Saturday, July 01, 2017

August Treasures in My Closet - Part 1

Louise Penny's Glass Houses. That's really all you need to know about August book releases. That book tops my list for the month.

But, I'm sure you want to hear about other books as well. So, here's the first day of August titles.

With my love of Ireland, I'll kick off the list with Lisa Alber's latest County Clare mystery, Path Into Darkness. The story swirls around family secrets. While Detective Sergeant Danny Ahern deals with the hospitalization of his comatose wife, he deals with a local man's murder. It's a dark, fascinating mystery that includes stories of Ireland. (Release date is August 8.)

Donna Andrews brings back Meg Langslow and her grandparents in Gone Gull. Meg is spending the summer at the Biscuit Mountain Craft Center, helping her grandmother run the studios. But, someone is vandalizing the center, threatening its reputation. Meg's grandfather suspects he might be the real target. Then, a body is found in one of the center's classrooms. (Release date is Aug. 1.)

The Dying Game by Asa Avdic is a locked-room mystery set in a near-future Orwellian state. In 2037 on a tiny island, Isola, seven people have been selected to compete in a forty-eight-hour test for a top secret intelligence position with the totalitarian Union of Friendship. Anna Frances' assignment is to stage her own death and observe how the other six candidates react. Who will take control? Who will crack? But when a storm rolls in, and the power goes out, the real game begins. (Release date is Aug. 1.)

J.R. Backlund's debut, Among the Dead, introduces a strong female character is an intense mystery. Rachel Carver resigned from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, so she's available when a former partner asks her to consult. In a small mountain community, she's leading a group of inexperienced detectives who are searching for a killer who took out a man who was alone in his house. With few clues, they search for a connection when another man is killed. (Release date is Aug. 8.)

The sequel to H.G.Wells' War of the Worlds is Stephen Baxter's The Massacre of Mankind. It's been fourteen years since the Martians invaded England. The world has moved on, except for Walter Jenkins, the narrator of Wells' book. He's sure the Martians have learned, adapted, and understood their defeat. He's right, and Walter's sister-in-law is struggling to survive the war and report on it. The massacre of mankind has begun. (Release date is Aug. 22.)

Great cover, isn't it? In Allison Brennan's Shattered, investigative reporter Max Revere is forced to team up with FBI agent Lucy Kincaid to exonerate a woman accused of murdering her son. If they can solve the murders of four boys over a span of twenty years, they may find their way through lies, misinformation, and evidence, to find the truth. (Release date is Aug. 22.)

The publisher suggests Cate Conte's Cat About Town is perfect for fans of Miranda James, Clea Simon and Rita Mae Brown. In other words, it's a mystery involving cats. Maddie James has arrived in Daybreak Island, eager to start her own business, so when a stray orange tabby enters her life, she opens a cat cafe. But, when her new cat finds the dead body of the town bully, everyone eyes the crazy cat-whisperer lady. (Release date is Aug. 1.)

From cats to a dog in the first book in E.J. Copperman's new series, Dog Dish of Doom. It's a fun mystery that introduces Kay Powell, a talent agent for show biz animals. She usually only has problems with her clients' owners, not the client. That's the case when she discovers a new dog star for the musical Annie. But, when Bruno's owner is found face down in Bruno's dog dish, with a knife in his back, Kay turns amateur sleuth because "The show must go on." (Release date is Aug. 15.)

Fiona Davis, author of The Dollhouse, returns with The Address, a suspense novel spanning over one hundred years about "the thin lines between love and loss, success and ruin, passion and madness, all hidden behind the walls of The Dakota, New York's famous residence. (Release date is Aug. 1.)

The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books by Martin Edwards is the story of crime fiction published during the first half of the twentieth century. Edwards, the leading expert on classic crime, discusses one hundred books which highlight the development of crime fiction from Sherlock Holmes through the end of the Golden Age. (Release date is Aug. 1.)

Steward "Hoagy" Hoagy and his basset hound Lulu are back for their first appearance in twenty years in David Handler's The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes. In 1992, the one-hit wonder turned ghostwriter is drawn into the story of a long-lost writer and father who contacts his daughters and wants Hoagy to write his story. But, the story of the sisters becomes a story of murder and lies. (Release date is Aug. 15.)

In Julia Keller's Fast Falls the Night, three people die and thirty more overdose in a single day. Prosecutor Bell Elkins races against the clock to track down the dealer and deliver justice before it's too late. (Release date is Aug. 22.)

Girl in Snow is Danya Kukafka's debut thriller. It tells the story of the murder of Lucinda Hayes, a town's golden girl. It's told through the perspective of three narrators, and investigates how well anyone really knows another person. (Release date is Aug. 1.)

Shari Lapena, author of The Couple Next Door, brings readers another domestic thriller, A Stranger in the House. A woman making dinner for her husband receives a phone call, and gets in her car, and races to a neighborhood, peers into a dark building, and remembers nothing else. Her husband is told she's been in an accident and lost control of her car in the worst side of town. While the police believe she was up to no good, her husband doesn't believe it. Her best friend isn't so sure. And, the woman doesn't know what to believe. (Release date is Aug. 15.)

The History of Bees is Maja Lunde's debut, follows three generations of beekeepers from the past, present, and future to weave a powerful story about the fate of our planet and the world-changing potential of each family. (Release date is Aug. 22.)

Robert J. Mrazek debuts a series with Dead Man's Bridge. Disgraced former army officer Jake Cantrell tries to bring justice to a small college town after the college's richest and most powerful alumnus is found hanging from a campus footbridge on the eve of homecoming weekend. (Release date is Aug. 8.)

Cat Shining Bright is the twentieth in Shirley Rousseau Murphy's Joe Grey mystery series. Joe Grey is a new father who misses his cop work because he's raising his three young kittens. But, when a beautician and a customer are found dead in the salon, Joe makes an exception, and heads for the crime scene. But, he has no idea the kittens are following him, or how they will complicate the investigation. (Release date is Aug. 15.)

In the last few Treasures in My Closet, I've listed the books I haven't summarized. Because there are so many August releases, I'll split that list for both days. Here's the first half of the books I'm not summarizing.

Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo
When Watched by Leopoldine Core
The Misfortune of Marion Palm by Emily Culliton
The Emoji Code by Vyvyan Evans
Eastman Was Here by Alex Gilvarry
The Driver by Hart Hanson
Impossible Views of the World by Lucy Ives
The Grip of It by Jac Jemc
The Luster of Lost Things by Sophie Chen Keller
The Future Won't Be Long by Jarett Kobek
One Summer Day in Rome by Mark Lamprell
All Things New by Lauren Miller

So, besides Louise Penny's Glass Houses, does any book jump out at you?

I had already put the Louise Penny and E.J. Copperman books on hold at the library, but I didn't know about the new David Handler. Just put it on hold. I think I've read most of his books. Thanks, Lesa!

By the way, you asked about Kiss Carlo by Adriana Trigiani, which I recently finished. I really enjoyed it, as I have most of Trigiani's books. It's probably too long, and it's a bit "all over the place," but it's a quick and satisfying read. I was looking for that after having read some more depressing books. Nice palate cleanser! I just started The Shark Club by Ann Kidd Taylor, and I have fallen in love already with her writing style.

Martin Edwards book is a must! Certainly I'll pick up the latest Penny as well, though I'm behind in that series. But I'm MOST excited to see David Handler returning to his Stewart Hoag series after all this time. Thanks for the heads-up on that. Can't wait! And Copperman's new series sounds worth exploring too. Great stuff on the horizon.

About Me

I have been a library manager/administrator for over 30 years, in Ohio, Florida, Arizona, and, now, Indiana. Winner of the 2011 Arizona Library Association Outstanding Library Service Award. I am a contributing Book Reviewer for Library Journal, Mystery Readers Journal, and ReadertoReader.com. Author of the "Mystery Fiction" chapter in Genreflecting: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests (7th ed.) Winner of the 2009 and 2010 Spinetingler Awards for Best Reviewer.

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It's an honor to be asked to review books, and I'm grateful to all the publishers, publicists, and authors who send me books. Thank you. Reviews will appear on my blog if I've had a chance to read, and finish, the book. If I do not finish a book, I won't review it, and I will not respond to emails asking when, or if, I'll be reviewing a book.

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